Mildred Ramynke has always been an energetic, adventuresome woman. As a result of her father’s enthusiastic descriptions of observing court cases in Corson County, Mildred decided at the age of five to become at attorney.

 

As the daughter of ranching parents Mildred learned to ride horses and spin ropes. During the summers from 1934 to 1939, she did an exhibition trick rope act with the Whipple Rodeo near her home in Roberts County.

 

Mildred went to grade school in Morristown, SD. She attended high school in Watertown, SD and took her pre-law courses at South Dakota State College in Brookings. She graduated from the University of South Dakota Law School at Vermillion, SD in 1939 at a time when few women were tackling this kind of endeavor.

 

Mildred’s adventurous spirit sparked an interest in flying, which she pursued. She became a military flight instructor during WWII.

 

In 1957, Mildred stepped out of her traditional role as active partner in farming with her husband and ran for Roberts County Judge, which she won by a landslide. Mildred served as County Judge of Roberts, Day, and Marshal Counties and as Circuit Judge and Presiding Judge of the 5th Circuit. She was the first woman Circuit Judge in South Dakota and was the first woman judge to sit on cases on the South Dakota Supreme Court. Mildred served 27 years on the bench.

 

Mildred Ramynke has certainly been a woman of the pioneer spirit with her “can-do” attitude coupled with hard, honest work. She is a person of which all South Dakotans can be both grateful and proud.  ~Source